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Robert Bruce Barker was simply known around town as “Bob” Barker.
His father, J.Q. Barker was one of the original founders of Andrews and was recognized as bringing the first industry into the town. He established the Kanawha Hardwood Lumber Company in 1899, which was a lifeline to the economy in Andrews.
Bob was born in Andrews, Sept. 25, 1901, to Marie and J.Q. Barker, and had five siblings, William Rolf, Leonidas James, Lillian, Eunice Louise and Julia Keeney. When Bob was 14 years old, the family moved to Maryville, Tenn., so his older siblings could attend Maryville College, which was encouraged by his parents.
Barker attended public school in Andrews and then entered Maryville Polytechnic Institute. He worked in Knoxville and Washington for the Veterans Administration. After serving in World War I, he attended Emerson Institute, then enrolled at George Washington University and the National University Law School in Washington, D.C.
He was admitted to the Tennessee Bar Association and practiced law in Tennessee, and the state of Maryland, until he made the decision to retire and move back home to Andrews in 1960.
Bob was a wealth of information as he made his rounds every day in Andrews, but he was a regular at the Andrews Journal office. He had to check in with Teta Wagner, the editor, as he contributed stories and wonderful pictures from his large collection. The history of Andrews was captured by Bob Barker. For 20 years, he shared those priceless pictures and many humorous stories in the pages of the Andrews Journal.
Anyone who knew Bob remembered his 1951 Ford, which had 733,000 miles on the speedometer. He told someone that he had replaced five engines and put about 120 tires on the car before he sold it.
Bob died suddenly Dec. 6, 1980, from a stroke at his home in Andrews. His wife, Clara Inez Barker, said he got up Saturday morning, made some coffee and was building a fire, where she found him on the floor.
In a memorial editorial titled “Remembering Bob” Teta Wagner summed it up best as she wrote: “Bob was an intelligent man. He found humor in the odd and even lives of all his friends and acquaintances. We all need to laugh at ourselves now and then, and Bob reminded us of that.
“I’ll miss the old car on the road, it was as much a peculiar individualist as he was. Filled with a myriad of articles of note; he carried galvanized buckets of tomatoes, potatoes or corn he distributed around to his friends; or boxes of bones for the dogs and cardboard buckets of chicken. Both front and back seats were filled with things and stuff Bob ‘needed’ for his journeys around town and over the mountain to Tennessee.
“I’ll not forget my delight the first time I saw the two hats sitting on his head, or pleased by his eccentricity when I really got to looking at all that stuff he kept clipped to the clothespins on his shirt. He’d unclip an item he just had to show you; and I guess we’ve all been undone by Bob’s sense of fun. To me, he was a wonderful man who knew how to live.”
If you review past papers of the Andrews Journal, you will see all the historical pictures that Bob Barker submitted. His hobby was collecting pictures and information related to the history of the mountain counties of Western North Carolina. It was said that Bob donated his pictures and historical information to the University of Tennessee. I have tried several times to find out and was told they were probably stored in the library archives.
I believe the town of Andrews should have those pictures because that is our history, and we need to pursue all avenues to get them.
Kandy Barnard is a columnist for the Cherokee Scout. To talk about the Andrews Valley, call her at 361-3268 or email kandybarnard@gmail.com.